The Metropolitan (Met) Police in London has launched a drive to support young people by improving the detection of spiked vapes in night clubs, festivals, concerts and schools. This is part of a wider campaign to protect young women and girls from spiking in all its forms, including in drinks.
Spiking, which is illegal, disproportionately affects women and girls the Met has said, with 66% of victims in August 2025 being female. Those perpetrating the crime are most active in and around busy nightlife venues, with 17% of reports linked to Westminster and the West End.
Between March 2024 and March 2025, the Met received over 2,000 allegations of spiking, around 150 every month, although the true scale of the crime is believed to be higher due to underreporting the Met said.
Party boats, which operate on the Thames and are popular with students during Freshers’ Week, are also being monitored by the Met’s Marine Support Unit as part of their Operation Albenga. The Met said the unit have been proactively patrolling party boats embarking and disembarking at Westminster Pier to identify and prevent offending taking place on the river.
The police officers are using mobile detection equipment that enables rapid testing of vapes suspected to contain drugs such as THC or spice. The Met said: “This is a growing concern for police after reports of vapes being tampered with, often shared between young people or handed out in social settings. In some cases, use of a spiked vape has led to hospitalisation.”
Deputy Assistant Commissioner at the Metropolitan Police, Ben Russell, said: “Spiking is an abhorrent crime that we are tackling head on, whether it takes place in a nightclub, a private venue, or on the Thames. The ongoing trial of new vape spiking detection kits is just one example of how we are innovating to get ahead of offenders and better protect the public.”
This operation in the capital follows research led by the University of Bath which showed how easy it is to obtain illegal vapes and e-liquids containing spice, often marketed as THC, via social media. Both THC and spice are illegal but the latter is particularly dangerous with its side effects including cardiac arrest.
Plain packaging should not reduce adult vaping levels
Separately, research by UCL and King’s College London has found that plain packaging of vape pods reduces young people’s interest in trying them, but does not reduce interest among adults. The study, published in the journal Lancet Regional Health, and carried out in collaboration with Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) and Brighton and Sussex Medical School researchers, looked at survey responses from 2,770 young people in Great Britain (aged 11-18) and 3,947 adults (18+) in the UK who were shown either branded vape pod packs or standardised packs. The research team found that 53% of young people said that their peers would be interested in trying vapes in normal branded packaging. This dropped to 38% if the packaging was standardised, with a white background and black lettering. Among adults, on the other hand, interest remained similar whether packs were standardised in white or branded.
The UK’s Tobacco and Vapes Bill is set to introduce restrictions on the packaging of vapes as public health experts and politicians have blamed the bright colours, accompanied by the flavoured e-liquid names, on the rise in the attraction of vapes for young people. However, an online article in Convenience Store quoted retailers expressing concerns about the introduction of restrictions suggesting illicit vapes are more of a problem. The 2025 ASH Smokefree GB Youth Survey on vaping among 11–17-year-olds in Great Britain found that the majority of young people who purchase vapes do so from shops (46%), followed by buying from friends/informal sources (25%), and online (10%). A Google search shows that council enforcement teams across the country are regularly closing stores down that are selling illicit vapes following police action when illegal products have been seized. The UK government’s spending review announced in June this year committed at least £80million to investment in smoking cessation and enforcement of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill annually.
Growing awareness among young people of Heat-not-Burn Products
Meanwhile ASH also has been sounding the alarm about the growing awareness by young people of heated tobacco products. Its research found that almost a quarter (24%) of 11–17-year-olds in Great Britain are now aware of the products (up from just 6% in 2021). Use of these products, while still a small proportion, has more than doubled between 2021 to 2025 (1.1% to 2.7%) among children aged 11-17.
ASH urged the government to schedule time in the House of Lords to get the Tobacco and Vapes Bill passed into law. The Bill reached the Committee Stage, following its second reading in April but it has taken months for any sittings to be scheduled. However, the Committee Stage sittings will now begin at the end of October. This will clarify the law to ensure that heated tobacco promotion is explicitly prohibited, as well as futureproofing the regulations to cover any novel tobacco products that may emerge in future.
Caroline Cerny, Deputy Chief Executive of Action on Smoking and Health said: “It’s worrying to see such a large rise in children’s awareness of these products in a short space of time, but unsurprising given the marketing tactics of the tobacco industry. The Government must act fast to protect children from becoming the next generation of consumers and urgently move the Tobacco and Vapes Bill through Parliament to clamp down on these tobacco tactics.”
To support organisations, such as schools, to tackle vaping we offer the HALO Smart Sensor. This can detect THC specifically, and would provide an alert for vaping whatever substance was used, and also detects heat-not-burn products. For a free demo, and to find out more, please get in touch.